Saturday, October 17, 2009

Bridging the gap between black and white, Jew and Zulu

In my search for similar themes in literature to the ones in my novel The Goat Herder, I came across recently The Evidence of Love (1960) a short story by South African born novelist Dan Jacobson.

The Evidence of Love tells the story of a black man and a white woman who fall in love and attempt to defy South African law and custom by living together. The novel treats the theme of interracial love in a relaxed and naturalistic way and also highlights aspects of the individual struggle for freedom and the achievement of self-identity.In another short story a year before (1959), although less similar in theme to The Goat Herder, The Zulu and the Zeide tells the story about a lively Jewish grandfather (Zeide in Yiddish) whose family employs a Zulu as a carer. Their relationship bridges the gulf between black and white, the generation gap, Africa and Eastern Europe. The story juxtaposes the small-mindedness of a wealthy Jewish businessman with the unaffected humanity of the black servant he employs to care for his ailing father. Local prejudices, however, still persist.

This information was taken from the Free Encyclopedia jrank.org. If you’re interested in a more detailed biography of Dan Jacobson go to:

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About Me

Hello and welcome to my blog. This blog site is the home of my novels, The Goat Herder (published) and Under Philadelphi Road (first draft completed). I will be discussing themes in the stories and similar topics in comparative literature, posting links to chapters of the books, where possible, and updates of their journey to publication. I invite you to accompany me on this exciting journey. Please feel welcome to leave a message or a comment. I am grateful you have taken the time to stop by.